Library announces new Early English Books Online resource

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Library is pleased to announce the addition of an important new online resource, Early English Books Online (EEBO), made possible through the help and collaboration of Chancellor Tom Apple, Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Reed Dasenbrock and Director of Outreach College William Chismar.

EEBO contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473 – 1700. EEBO encompasses the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.

Said UH Mānoa Professor Emerita of English Valerie Wayne, “I use EEBO nearly every day, and it's a crucial resource for my work in editing one of Shakespeare's plays for the Arden Shakespeare series. It's a crucial database for our new hires in English working in the early modern period. Without it, I don't see how we could retain these first-rate scholars. It will also be increasingly important for students at the graduate and even undergraduate levels. It makes an enormous difference for those of us working in the fields of early English literature and history.”

“EEBO contains hundreds of texts essential to my research on European agricultural and botanical history. These are texts I would otherwise be unable to access without expensive travel. Through the collection I am able to read multiple editions of the same text, download images to pdf (to use in my lecture slides) and compile citations effectively and efficiently,” said UH Mānoa graduate history student Adam Witten.

To locate the Early English Books Online through the Library’s home page, follow these steps:

3) In the Search for a Database window type in “Early English Books Online” and hit search

4) Click on the database title

5) Click on the database title which takes you to the website

UH Mānoa Assistant Professor of History Ned Bertz said that he plans on using the site for certain courses he teaches, as it contains a wealth of original primary sources that students can interpret in writing analytical essays. He also browsed the site for material related to his fields, South Asia and Africa, and was pleasantly surprised to find more than he expected.